Exploration spending to boost output

Article Excerpt

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $8.02 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www. birchcliffenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 263.0 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Dividends yield: 1.2%) explores for, develops and produces oil and gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area of both Alberta and B.C. In the three months ended December 31, 2016, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share rose 22.7%, to $0.27 from $0.22 a year earlier. The increase came from higher oil and gas prices and higher daily production. In July 2016, the company bought Encana Corp.’s Gordondale natural gas fields in B.C. for $612.3 million in cash. The deal is big for Birchcliff: Gordondale expanded its average production in the latest quarter by 50.2%, to 60,750 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 40,445 a year earlier. To pay for the purchase, the company sold 107.5 million shares at $6.25 each to raise $675.0 million. It also sold 3.0 million shares at the same price to Seymour Schulich. That let the prominent Toronto…